


Childish

by KisekiMa



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Gen, One Shot, Post Advent Children, Reincarnation, Too Much Sugar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 00:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20666450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisekiMa/pseuds/KisekiMa
Summary: After being trapped within the Lifestream again, bored and tired Sephiroth realizes he doesn’t know what he truly wants. Inspired by Zack, Aerith decides to take advantage of this moment of weakness and… messes a bit with his reincarnation.





	Childish

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short, fluffy one shot with too much sugar.
> 
> I own nothing but my stupid ideas and bad writing.

_Again._

Thin streams of consciousness gathered, bound by one strong will. Fueling himself with hatred and false desire for vengeance, remembering the iron resolve in his puppet’s gaze, the worst enemy of the Planet will reconstruct himself. Sooner or later, he will be back.

_Again_.

But for what purpose exactly? Except of keeping the things going, in circles, like everything in this and other worlds?

Surprisingly even for himself, Sephiroth sighed mentally.

He felt utterly bored. Tired. Frustrated. Futility of… well, all of this… was unbearable.

“What is it that you want?” – Cloud asked him once and, unlike back then, Sephiroth had no answer.

What could someone like him, a godlike entity, really want? There was hardly anything he couldn’t achieve and that was the sole reason everything seemed pointless to him. He was, of course, eager to do as Mother wishes, but what’s in it truly for him?

He sighed again, abandoning such useless doubts. He will have enough time to think about it when he gets out of here.

_Again_.

* * *

“He’s doing it again?”

Aerith nodded, trying to keep herself focused on her task. She had no intention to disturb the flow of Sephiroth’s thoughts, there were much more efficient ways of stopping him.

“Yes, but this time something is different. Like he’s bored or uncertain. But also too proud to just give up.”

“Sounds childish…”

Aerith blinked several times, struck by a strange idea inspired by Zack’s comment.

“Childish, you say?” The evil grin on her angelic face made the man regret that he hadn’t remained silent. It was dangerous, for sure.

“Aerith… Whatever you’re planning to do, please, reconsider it.”

She didn’t listen to him, though, already engaged in some kind of mental battle. Whatever she was trying to achieve, she should be careful, facing an opponent as strong as Sephiroth. Zack froze, too worried to move or say anything, and angry at himself for not being able to help.

“Too late.” She breathed out at last, worn up but visibly happy, pleased by the result of her improvisation. If she only tried that sooner! “Well, I probably overdid a bit, but it’s his fault to fight me.”

Zack’s face expressed absolute terror.

“What did you do?”

As if to frighten him even more, Aerith chuckled innocently.

“Remember Kadaj?”

“Yeeeees. Aaaaaaand?”

“Now imagine something like… half of Kadaj.”

Zack’s jaw literally dropped. He needed to see this!

* * *

The team formed quickly after Cloud had heard the first call for the Reunion. It was faint, like a silent cry for help, but the blond warrior did not intend to fall into Sephiroth’s trap so easily. He was tired of his sick games, mind control and all the blabbering about despair. If the bastard really returns, they will strike him down without mercy as soon as possible.

To make things even worse, the Reunion call lured them back to where the nightmare had begun – to Nibelheim. To ShinRa’s mansion, precisely.

Everyone seemed surprised by Sephiroth’s choice – or an obvious lack of good taste. Even Vincent, who joined the team halfway, straight from some lone journey, murmured something about it.

Well, others were less subtle in expressing loudly their discontent all the way to the cursed manor.

They proceeded through the door with great caution, like entering a dragon’s nest. Even the air inside seemed heavy with uncomfortable memories… And, when something moved in the distance, a shadow among shadows, they all froze, ready to fight.

“Show yourself, Sephiroth!”

The mysterious shadow moved again, small and… terrified?

They all exchanged dumbfounded looks and shrugs. Something about this situation felt terribly wrong. Sephiroth would never hide under the table with a squeal of a frightened squirrel. Or… would he? If he was only a child, assaulted by a group of fully-armed adventurers in the abandoned laboratory, he certainly would.

Actually, Cloud suspected that everyone would do exactly that in his place. He frowned and lowered his sword, not so sure what to do anymore.

* * *

“What the… Another larval form? As expected from a vermin!”

“It seems to be more than a remnant.”

“How do you know that, Cloud?”

“I don’t know, just have a feeling…”

“The real deal then?”

“But why like that?”

“I would say that he’s trying to get away from responsibility in the worst possible way!”

“Or that a certain Cetra girl has weird sense of humor.”

The last comment, calmer than the rest, came from Vincent, who was observing them from the corner of the room. Having no answer to that, Cloud stared at the… six-year-old, probably..., who waited patiently for their verdict. Too patiently. Children his age are usually more alive. Wild even. Was he afraid? No, rather resigned. The way he sat on the table reminded Cloud of Hojo’s labs, of never-ending procedures and pain one could do nothing to really avoid.

Cloud clenched his fist, not knowing what to think. For a moment he pitied the boy, but… it was Sephiroth, damn it! His crimes cannot be forgotten, nor forgiven, just because he tries to hide them behind an innocent face of a child.

But what if this… version of Sephiroth was really innocent? If he remembered nothing or almost nothing of what he had done? If he was sane and held no grudges towards the world yet?

Yet. A warning bell ringed inside his head.

_What do you want me to do, Aerith? Isn’t this just too cruel?_

“Hey, hey, hey!” Lost in thoughts, Cloud barely recognized who was calling to him. Cid, probably. “I understand that he can trigger Vincent’s daddy instinct, but why you?”

He looked up and met expectant gazes of his companions. They were all waiting for his decision.

“I will not fight a child,” Cloud announced at last, his voice colder than ice. “But I will not help him either. As long as he behaves, I won’t interfere, that’s all.”

Even if they expected something like that, they still needed a moment to consider it. The possible consequences of leaving this… form… of Sephiroth run freely could be disastrous.

“You know he can’t be left unwatched, do you?” Tifa was trying not to look at the boy, even in his direction. She suspected that, if Sephiroth keeps returning like that, her wounds will never heal.

“I won’t babysit him if this what you’re trying to say” – came Cloud’s harsh response.

“I can.” All gazes turned to Vincent when he spoke up, barely audible but strangely determined. “I have plenty of time and nothing important to do anyway.” He shrugged, predicting the questions that might follow.

Having nothing to add, Cloud only nodded and left, refusing to ever look back.

* * *

The man stared at the boy. The boy tried not to stare back. They stayed like this, surrounded by thick, awkward silence of the abandoned underground laboratory, for a disturbingly long while.

Surprisingly, Sephiroth spoke first.

“Cloud’s angry?” It was more a statement than a question.

The former Turk nodded in response. Sephiroth slightly moved his head, showing that he understands. He looked miserable, like rejected by an older brother whom he secretly admires.

After another moment of awkward silence, Vincent realized that he did not know Sephiroth at all. He was familiar with his cruelty, with an evil smirk on his face when he promised Cloud painful death. He remembered those cat eyes filled with madness. But what was there before Nibelheim? Maybe the child inherited more from Lucrecia than his pretty face? Vincent had no idea.

Well, it was the best possible occasion to find it out, right?

“Where’s Mother?” This silent question brought the former Turk back to reality.

Sephiroth looked at him, not sure if he can trust the stranger. His hesitant, almost scared, gaze melted Vincent’s heart.

The red-eyed man blinked, amazed by his own stupidity. Of course Sephiroth has a mother, waiting out there for the occasion to finally meet her child!

Vincent smiled faintly and reached out his hand to the boy.

“Come, I will take you to her.”

* * *

“So… care to explain why you did what you did?”

Aerith smiled widely, but it took her a while to answer. Zack waited patiently, knowing that she tries to explain her motives and feelings as precisely as possible.

“Have you ever wondered why Sephiroth keeps returning again and again?”

“No idea. Jenova cells, maybe?”

“It’s not so simple.” Aerith shook her head. “His willpower is the key. His mind and soul are restless, like he has some… unfinished business out there. I thought that… maybe if he could forget and live a better life, with happier childhood and all, his willpower will weaken. There will be no reason for him to return, he will silently dissolve in the Lifestream, like other humans usually do. Like Kadaj and his brothers did.” She sighed, almost with tenderness, remembering something. “In the end Kadaj was only a lost child, who wanted to be loved and accepted. Maybe it’s the same with Sephiroth.”

“Maybe.” Zack wasn’t yet completely sure about it, but could understand her logic. He smiled gently, watching the two weirdos – the red-eyed ‘vampire’ and silver-haired baby angel – walking slowly together the narrow path to the mountains.

If there's a chance to break this endless cycle, they will give it a try.


End file.
